'All aboard!' Where you can ride the Polar Bear Express this Christmas

Sights and sounds of a Noblesville holiday classic.
Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

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Oliver, right, and Amelia Gollapudi, 2 and 4, respectively, and their mother Sylvia are greeted aboard the Polar Bear Express on their train ride from the Fishers Train Station to Noblesville and back during the Indiana Transportation Museum's 17th annual event on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011.(Photo: Charlie Nye, Indianapolis Star)Buy Photo

In 2016, a holiday tradition for many Hoosiers came to a halt. The Indiana Transportation Museum's Polar Bear Express didn't run for the first time in 20 years. That's changing this year, but you'll have to drive about an hour north to get aboard. Here's why:

"The funds we generate off of events like this are often what allow us to fulfill our mission, and run the railroad, maintain the trains, save antique railroad equipment, railroad artifacts, things like that so the people of Indiana can enjoy them,” Cameron Nichols, a member of the board of directors for the museum, told the Kokomo Tribune last month.

Riders will hear a holiday story while enjoying provided hot chocolate, cookie, and a candy cane. Once the train pulls into the "North Pole," guests will get a visit from Santa Claus himself.

Tickets cost $35 per passenger. If you're willing to put down $60, you'll get a plush armchair seat in a historic, art deco club car, a dessert dish from a Kokomo bakery, an official ornament, and later, some extra Santa time.

Rides are offered on the following dates and times for the remainder of this year:

Friday, Dec. 8, 15, 22: 5 and 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 9, 16, 23: 11 a.m., 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 10, 17: 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 14, 21: 5 and 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 20: 5 and 7 p.m.

A "Take Santa Home" train will also run from Dec. 27 - 29 at 5 and 7 p.m. On Dec. 30, the train will run at 11 a.m and at 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m.

Nate Chute is a producer with IndyStar. Follow him on Twitter at @nchute.